1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a laser scanning microscope.
2. Description of the Related Art
Heretofore, a laser scanning microscope has been known as a kind of microscope that two-dimensionally scans a specimen with a light beam and detects light from the specimen. The laser scanning microscope converges a beam of laser light from a laser light source onto the specimen by an objective lens, optically two-dimensionally scans a convergent point thereof by use of a scanner, brings fluorescence, transmitted light, or reflected light from the specimen into light detecting means through the objective lens, converts, in the light detecting means, detected light into an electric signal by photoelectric conversion, and forms scan image data on the basis of the converted electric signal.
In the laser scanning microscope, to detect the fluorescence generated from the specimen, the light detecting means is provided with an optical filter that transmits fluorescence having a wavelength to be detected, and the light detecting means only detects the fluorescence that has passed through this optical filter. Thus, for example, in a case where a reagent is newly developed and fluorescence generated by this reagent having a different wavelength is to be detected, it is necessary to take such measures as to newly add an optical filter adapted to a wavelength range corresponding to this fluorescence.
Therefore, for example, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,703,621, a method has heretofore been devised which disperses the fluorescence generated from the reagent into a fluorescence spectrum by a diffraction grating, detects this fluorescence spectrum by a multichannel detector having detection channels, and electrically synthesizes and outputs signals corresponding to light having a necessary wavelength. According to U.S. Pat. No. 6,703,621, fluorescence of any wavelength can be dealt with, so that there is no need to add an optical filter for the fluorescence of a newly used reagent.
Another method is disclosed in Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 2000-56228 wherein short wavelength transmitting filters and long wavelength transmitting filters having different wavelength characteristics are combined to constitute a desired bandpass filter. According to Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 2000-56228, the filters having different wavelengths can be easily replaced, and it is therefore possible to easily adapt to the fluorescence of a newly used reagent without newly adding an optical filter.